Museu Nacional Machado de Castro

The museum occupies the former episcopal palace in Coimbra's upper town and is named for Joaquim Machado de Castro, the eighteenth-century sculptor who made the equestrian statue in Lisbon's Praça do Comércio. Its collection is the finest holding of medieval and Renaissance sculpture in Portugal - Gothic tomb figures, the Coimbra school of Renaissance carvers including Jean de Rouen and Nicolau Chanterene, gilded woodwork, painting, textiles and goldwork. What sits underneath is the reason many people come: the cryptoporticus of Roman Aeminium, a double-level system of vaulted galleries built in the first century to create a level platform for the forum on sloping ground, running under the whole building and walkable in near darkness. It is among the best-preserved Roman structures in Portugal. The museum first opened in 1913, was closed for a long renovation from 2004 and reopened in 2012 with a new wing by Gonçalo Byrne, which won the Piranesi Prix de Rome in 2014.

The main sights

• The cryptoporticus - first-century Roman vaulted galleries under the whole museum.
• The sculpture - the best medieval and Renaissance carving collection in Portugal.
• The Coimbra school - work by Jean de Rouen and Nicolau Chanterene.
• The Byrne wing - the 2012 addition and terrace over the city.

When to go

Year-round. Two to three hours. Closed Mondays. The upper town is a steep climb; the elevador from the Baixa helps.

Things to know

The Roman galleries are dark, cool and uneven underfoot - poor for anyone unsteady. The collection is large and sculpture-heavy, which not everyone wants. Labelling is fuller in Portuguese. Steep approach in every direction.

Nearby

The old cathedral is below; the university and Joanina library are above.

Key facts